Slide bar display control device and slide bar display control method

ABSTRACT

The slide bar display control device according to the present invention includes, a display means which indicates a first slide bar including a first slider and a first bar, an input means which can select an arbitrary part of the first slide bar shown on the display means based on touch operation, and a control means which controls the display means and the input means, wherein, when the control means detects that a first operation has been performed in a state that the first slider shown on the display means is being touched in the input means, the display means indicates a second slide bar including a second slider and a second bar, and wherein the second slider is a slider different in a variation amount of a set value per unit moving distance from the first slider.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This present application is a Continuation Application of Ser. No.16/257,515 filed on Jan. 25, 2019, which a Continuation Application ofSer. No. 13/963,765 filed on Aug. 9, 2013, (U.S. Pat. No. 10,198,166issued on Feb. 5, 2019), which a Continuation Application of Ser. No.13/133,716 filed on Jun. 9, 2011, (U.S. Pat. No. 8,954,889 issued onFeb. 10, 2015), which is a National Stage Entry of InternationalApplication PCT/JP2009/071080 filed on Dec. 14, 2009, which claims thebenefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application 2008-321819 filedon Dec. 18, 2008, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated intheir entirety by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a slide bar display control device fordisplaying a slide bar on a screen.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, in the field of an electronic apparatus such as amobile phone device and a portable music player, devices in which a setvalue such as a volume of sound and a playback position of video datacan be changed by operating a slide bar displayed on the screen of adisplay means having a touch panel using a finger have been increasing.

A slide bar includes a bar part and a slider part. A bar indicates therange of a numerical value that can be set. A slider can be slid in therange of the bar.

A numerical value can be set by moving the slider along the bar. Aslider is moved by touching the slider with a fingertip and sliding thefingertip while keeping touching the slider. Such operation is referredto as dragging a slider.

The variation amount of a set value per unit moving distance of a slideris decided roughly by the length of a bar and the range of a numericalvalue that can be set. For this reason, the shorter the length of a barwhich can be indicated is due to restriction of the size of a displayscreen, the larger a variation amount of a slider per unit movingdistance becomes. Similarly, the wider the range of a numerical valuethat can be set, the larger a variation amount of a slider per unitmoving distance becomes. When a variation amount of a set value per unitmoving distance is large, the set value increases and decreases greatlyonly by dragging a slider by a negligible distance. Therefore, operationfor adjusting the set value to a desired value becomes difficult.

A technology related to this problem is disclosed in patent document 1,for example. In an input device for audio equipment described in patentdocument 1, a first bar is displayed on the screen. The first bar isconfigured by placing a large number of elements, each corresponding toa music number on one-on-one basis, in line. When any part in the firstbar is touched by a finger, music numbers corresponding to the touchedpart and its neighboring parts are obtained. Then, a second bar forselecting one piece of music from the acquired music numbers isindicated. Here, the number of pieces of music that can be selectedusing the second bar is smaller than the number of pieces of music thatcan be selected using the first bar. Therefore, the width of one elementin the second bar is wider than that of one element in the first bar.Then, an user selects one piece of music which the user desires bytouching a desired part in the second bar with a finger.

Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-230951

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

As it has been mentioned above, when a variation amount of a set valueper unit moving distance of a slider is large, operation for fineadjustment of the set value becomes difficult. In patent document 1, asecond bar whose variation amount of a set value per unit movingdistance is less than that of a first bar is indicated. However, inpatent document 1, two times of touch operation, a touch on a desiredpart in the first bar and a touch on a desired part in the second bar,are needed. Essentially, one of advantages of a slide bar is that, oncea slider is touched by a finger, the finger does not have to be releaseduntil an adjustment of a setting value is finished. In patent document1, such essential convenience of a slide bar will be spoiled.

The object of the present invention is to provide a slide bar displaycontrol device which can perform a fine adjustment of a set value easilywithout spoiling the original convenience of a slide bar.

Means for Solving the Problems

The slide bar display control device according to the present inventionincludes, a display means which indicates a first slide bar including afirst slider and a first bar, an input means which can select anarbitrary part of the first slide bar shown on the display means basedon touch operation, and a control means which controls the display meansand the input means, wherein, when the control means detects that afirst operation has been performed in a state that the first slidershown on the display means is being touched in the input means, thedisplay means indicates a second slide bar including a second slider anda second bar, and wherein the second slider is a slider different in avariation amount of a set value per unit moving distance from the firstslider.

The slide bar display control method according to the present inventionincludes a displaying step for indicating a first slide bar including afirst slider and a first bar, an input step capable of selecting anarbitrary part of the first slide bar shown on the display means basedon touch operation, and a control step for controlling the display stepand the input step, wherein, when the control step detects that a firstoperation has been performed in a state that the first slider shown bythe display step is being touched in the input step, the display stepindicates a second slide bar including a second slider and a second bar,and wherein the second slider is a slider different in a variationamount of a set value per unit moving distance from the first slider.

An electronic apparatus according to the present invention, whendetecting that a first operation has been performed in a state that aslider of a first slide bar displayed on a screen is being touched,displaying a second slide bar with a set value variation amount per unitmoving distance of a slider is different from the first slide bar on thescreen, and changing a control state to a state that a slider of thesecond slide bar is being touched from a state that a slider of thefirst slide bar is being touched.

A recording medium according to the present invention stores a programwhich carries out an indication step for indicating a first slide barincluding a first slider and a first bar, an input step capable ofselecting an arbitrary part of the first slide bar shown on the displaymeans based on touch operation, and a control step for controlling thedisplay step and the input step, wherein, when the control step detectsthat a first operation has been performed in a state that the firstslider shown by the display step is being touched in the input step, thedisplay step indicates a second slide bar including a second slider anda second bar, and wherein the second slider is a slider different in avariation amount of a set value per unit moving distance from the firstslider.

Advantage of the Invention

According to the present invention, a fine adjustment of a set value canbe easily performed without spoiling the original convenience of a slidebar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a slide bardisplay control device in a first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of anelectronic apparatus to which the present invention has been applied;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state that a first slide bar is displayedon the display screen of an electronic apparatus to which the presentinvention has been applied;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state that a second slide bar is displayedon the display screen of an electronic apparatus to which the presentinvention has been applied;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state that the second slide bar isoperated in the display screen of an electronic apparatus to which thepresent invention has been applied to change a set value;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state that a third slide bar is displayedon the display screen of an electronic apparatus to which the presentinvention has been applied;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory drawing of software which is stored in a ROM ofan electronic apparatus to which the present invention has been applied;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a processing example of a GUI program ina second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of slide bar controlprocessing in the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a processing example of a GUI program ina third exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an example of slide bar controlprocessing in the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12(a) is an explanatory drawing of up-and-down operation and FIG.12(b) is an explanatory drawing of down-and-up operation, the both beinginstruction operation for slide bar switching in the third exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory drawing of an embodiment for switching slidebars by operation of a button switch;

FIG. 14(a) is an explanatory drawing of an embodiment using a slide barwith a ring-like bar in which a position in the ring-like bar is brokenaway and made be end part, FIG. 14(b) is an explanatory drawingdifferent from FIG. 14(a) of an embodiment using a slide bar with aring-like bar, and Fig. (c) is an explanatory drawing different fromFIG. 14(b) of an embodiment using a slide bar with a ring-like bar;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory drawing of an embodiment in which a new bar isindicated perpendicular to the original bar when slide bars areswitched; and

FIG. 16 is an explanatory drawing of an embodiment in which a new bar isindicated parallel to the original bar when slide bars are switched.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

-   -   10 Electronic apparatus    -   11 CPU    -   12 RAM    -   13 ROM    -   14 Flat display panel    -   15 Touch panel    -   16 Display controller    -   17 Coordinate detecting unit    -   18 Communication unit    -   19 Input device    -   20 Output device    -   21 Input/output interface unit    -   22 Bus

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference tothe drawings. However, such embodiments do not limit the technical scopeof the present invention.

The First Exemplary Embodiment

The first exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1.

A slide bar display control device in this exemplary embodiment includesa display 1, an input unit 2 and a control unit 3.

The display 1 indicates a first slide bar including a first slider and afirst bar. The display 1 is constituted of a flat display panel, forexample. The input unit 2 makes it possible to select any part of thefirst slide bar shown on the display 1 based on touch operation. Theinput unit 2 is a clear touch panel which covers the display 1, forexample. Touch operation means operation to dab at a touch panel with afingertip, for example. The control unit 3 controls the display 1 andthe input unit 2.

In addition, the control unit 3 detects that first operation has beenperformed in the state that the first slider displayed on the display 1is being touched in the input unit 2. When such operation is detected,the display 1 indicates a second slide bar including a second slider anda second bar. Here, a variation amount of a set value per unit movingdistance of the second slider is different from a variation amount of aset value per unit moving distance of the first slider.

Meanwhile, the first operation may be operation to keep touching a sameposition more than a predetermined time, for example. In this case, aslide bar display control device may include a coordinate detecting unitfor detecting a position at which the input unit 2 is touched, that is,the coordinate of the touch position. Then, when a coordinate detectedby the coordinate detecting unit, that is, a touch coordinate, does notchange for more than a predetermined time, it may be determined that thefirst operation has been performed.

By the above mentioned structure, a slide bar display control device inthis exemplary embodiment allows to perform fine adjustment of a setvalue easily while keeping a state that a finger is touching the inputpart 3, for example. That is, fine adjustment of a set value can becarried out easily without spoiling the original convenience of a slidebar.

The Second Exemplary Embodiment

The second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 2.

An electronic apparatus 10 in this exemplary embodiment includes a CPU(Central Processing Unit) 11, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 and a ROM(Read Only Memory) 13. The electronic apparatus 10 further includes aflat display panel 14, a touch panel 15, a display controller 16, acoordinate detecting unit 17, a communication unit 18, an input device19, an output device 20, an input/output interface unit 21 and a bus 22.

The CPU 11 controls each kind of processing of the electronic apparatus10. The RAM 12 functions as a work memory when each kind of processingis carried out. The ROM 13 stores various programs executed by the CPU11. The display panel 14 is a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) which canindicate a graphic, for example. The touch panel 15 is clear and coversthe display screen of the flat display panel 14. The display controller16 controls a display state of the flat display panel 14. The coordinatedetecting unit 17 detects the coordinate of a touch position of thetouch panel 15, that is, a touch coordinate. The communication unit 18communicates wirelessly or by a wire. The input device 19 is such as abutton switch and a key. The output device 20 is a speaker, for example.The input/output interface unit 21 is an input/output interface for theinput device 19 and the output device 20. The bus 22 connects each unitof the electronic apparatus 10 mutually.

The CPU 11 carries out a program being stored in the ROM 13 on the ROM13 or after loading it to the RAM 12. The CPU 11 realizes the variousprocess functions while taking in an input signal from the input device19 and a touch coordinate of the touch panel 15 from the coordinatedetecting unit 17. Meanwhile, an input signal from the input device 19is taken into the CPU 11 via the input/output interface unit 21. The CPU11 performs the following kinds of control according to processingresults by realization of various process functions. That is, the CPU 11controls the output device 20 via the input/output interface unit 21. Italso controls a display state of the flat display panel 14 via thedisplay controller 16. It further controls communication with outsidevia the communication unit 18. In this way, the CPU 11 realizes thevarious functions of the electronic apparatus 10.

As functions of the electronic apparatus 10, there are a voice callfunction, a mail sending/receiving function, a music playing functionand an video playing function, for example. The electronic apparatus 10in this exemplary embodiment has a media playing function. A playbackposition of a video and an audio is adjusted using a slide bar. However,of course, kinds of set values adjusted by a slide bar are not limitedto this exemplary embodiment.

An example of the external appearance and an usage state of theelectronic apparatus 10 in this exemplary embodiment is shown in FIG. 3.An equipment body 30 of the electronic apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 3 hasa thin shape of the degree that it can be held by one hand. The flatdisplay panel 14 with the touch panel 15 is arranged in the front faceof the equipment body 30. A slide bar 31 including a bar 32 and a slider33 is shown on the display screen of the flat display panel 14. Now, auser is adjusting a set value (such as a playback position of media).The “0” shown in the left side of the bar 32 and “1000” shown in theright side of the bar 32, indicates the lower limit value and the upperlimit value of the set value that can be adjusted using the slide bar31, respectively. For example, when the user touches the slider 33 withthe fingertip of the index finger of the right hand and drags it in alengthwise direction of the bar 32, the set value changes according to aposition to which the slider 33 has been moved. The present set value isbeing shown in a set value display area 34, and, in FIG. 3, it is “700”.When only a rough adjustment is needed, the fingertip should simply bereleased from the slider 33 here (this operation is referred to as arelease). As a result, the set value is fixed to a numerical valueaccording to the position of the slider 33 at the time the fingertip wasreleased.

However, it is difficult to adjust a set value with a high degree ofaccuracy using the slide bar 31 having a large set value variationamount per unit moving distance of the slider 33. Accordingly, in thisembodiment, when a fingertip which is touching the slider 33 is leftwithout being released and kept just as it is without being moved for agiven time (this operation is referred to as a press), the electronicapparatus 10 detects about it. When the electronic apparatus 10 detectsthat press operation has been performed, it changes the display screenof the flat display panel 14 as shown in FIG. 4. In the display screenof FIG. 4, a slide bar 37 is shown in the same place where the slide bar31 was indicated. The slide bar 37 has an identical shape with the slidebar 31 that has been displayed on the display screen of FIG. 3 and isdifferent in color from it. The lower limit and upper limit values ofthe set value that can be adjusted by the slide bar 37 are set based onthe set value of the slide bar 31 at the time press operation wasperformed. In this exemplary embodiment, as shown in both ends of a bar35, the lower limit and upper limit values of the set value that can beadjusted by this slide bar 37 are 630 and 730, respectively. That is, avariation amount of the set value per the unit moving distance of aslider 36 is one-tenth of the variation amount of the set value per unitmoving distance of the slider 33. For this reason, by moving a fingertipwhich has been kept touching to the screen to drag the slider 36, theset value can be changed between 630 and 730. Then, the fingertip isreleased from the slider 36 at the position of the slider 36 shown inFIG. 5, for example. As a result, the set value is determined to thenumerical value “680” according to the position of the slider 36 at thetime the fingertip was released.

In this exemplary embodiment, the variation amount of a set value perunit moving distance of a slider can be made further smaller. That is,when press operation is performed still without releasing a fingertipthat is touching the slider 36 at the position of FIG. 5, the electronicapparatus 10 detects about it. As a result, the display screen of theflat display panel 14 is changed as shown in FIG. 6. In the displayscreen of FIG. 6, a slide bar 40 is shown in the same place where theslide bar 37 has been indicated. The slide bar 40 has an identical shapewith the slide bar 37 that has been displayed on the display screen ofFIG. 5 and is different in color from it. As shown in both ends of a bar38, the lower limit and upper limit values of the set value that can beadjusted by this slide bar 40 are 675 and 685, respectively. That is, avariation amount of the set value per the unit moving distance of aslider 39 is one-tenth of the variation amount of the set value per theunit moving distance of the slider 36. For this reason, by moving afingertip which has been left touching to the screen to drag the slider36, the set value can be changed between 685 and 675. After being moved,the fingertip is released from a slider 39. As a result, the set valueis fixed to a numerical value according to the position of the slider 39at the time the fingertip was released.

Next, a processing example for realizing the slide bar display controlthat has been described with reference to FIGS. 3-6 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 7-9.

FIG. 7 indicates software recorded in the ROM 13. The ROM 13 records abasic operating system (basic program) 51 and various applicationprograms 52. The ROM 13 further memorizes a GUI (Graphical UserInterface) program 53. A slide bar control unit 54 which takes charge ofslide bar display control processing according to this exemplaryembodiment is incorporated in the GUI program 53.

FIG. 8 indicates a processing example of a GUI program. At the time ofstart of a set value change function, the GUI program 53 sets aninternal variable n for slide bar selection to 1 using the slide barcontrol unit 54. Then, the slide bar 31 which is the first one is shownon the flat display panel 14 (Step S11). By this, the slide bar 31 asshown in FIG. 3 is shown on the flat display panel 14. At that time, thepresent set value stored in the RAM 12 is indicated in the set valuedisplay area 34. The slider 33 is shown in a position according to thepresent set value.

Next, the GUI program 53 determines whether a screen touch has beenperformed or not based on an output coordinate of the coordinatedetecting unit 17 (Step S12). When a screen touch has been performed, itdetermines whether a touch position is on the slider 33 of the slide bar31 (Step S13). When the touch position is on the slider 33, the slidebar control unit 54 carries out a slide bar control processing step S14.After the end of Step S14, processing returns to the processing of StepS12. On the other hand, when the touch position is a position besidesthe slider 33, processing according to the touch position is performed(Step S15). Then, after Step S15 has been finished, processing returnsto the processing of Step S12. Because processing when a positionbesides the slider 33 has been touched is not related to the presentinvention directly, detailed description will be omitted.

FIG. 9 indicates an example of slide bar control processing (Step S14)of FIG. 8. In the slide bar control processing of Step S14, first,whether a finger has been released from the slider 33 that had beenbeing touched by the finger or not is determined based on output of thecoordinate detecting unit 17 (Step S21). When it has not being released,whether there has been a change in a touch coordinate is determined(Step S22). When there is a change in a touch coordinate, processing atthe time of dragging is performed (Step S23). The processing at the timeof dragging includes processing for moving a display position of theslider 33 to the dragged position. Also included is processing forcalculating a set value corresponding to a position of the slider 33after a move. Moreover, processing for indicating such calculated setvalue corresponding to the position of the slider 33 after the move tothe set value display area 34 is also included. Yet further, when aspecification is such that a set value in the middle of changing isimmediately reflected to an application using the set value, processingfor updating the set value stored in the RAM 12 is also included.

On the other hand, when there are no changes in a touch coordinate (inStep S22, NO), whether a touch coordinate have not changed for more thana given time or not, in other words, whether press operation has beenperformed or not is determined (Step S24). When press operation has notbeen performed, processing returns to the processing of Step S21. On theother hand, when press operation has been performed, it is determinedthat switching of slide bars is directed from the user. Then, after ithas been confirmed that an internal variable n is not 3 or more (StepS25), 1 is added to the internal variable n to and make it be n+1. Then,when n+1 is 2, for example, the second slide bar 37 is displayed on thescreen of the flat display panel 14 (Step S26). As a result, the displayscreen transits from the state of FIG. 3 to the state of FIG. 4. At thattime, the slider 36 of the new slide bar 37 is shown in the positionwhere the slider 33 of the original slide bar 31 has been indicated.Therefore, the fingertip that has been touching the slider 33 will be inthe state that it is touching the slider 36. Along with this, in StepS26, the slide bar control unit 54 of the GUI program 53 changes thecontrol state. That is, the slide bar control unit 54 changes thecontrol state from the state it is recognizing that the slider 33 isbeing touched to the state it is recognizing that the slider 36 is beingtouched. Then, processing returns to the processing of Step S21.

Similarly to the case where the slide bar 31 is being indicated, whetherthe slider 36 has been released or not is determined also in the statewhere the slide bar 37 is being indicated (Step S21). When it has notbeen released, whether the touch coordinate has been changed or not isdetermined (Step S22). Further, when the touch coordinate has not beenchanged, whether press operation has been performed or not is determined(Step S24). Based on these determination results, processing at the timeof dragging (Step S23), processing for changing the display to the thirdslide bar 40 and processing for changing the control state (Step S26) iscarried out.

Next, a case when release of a slider is detected in the state where oneof the first to third slide bars is being indicated (in Step S21, YES)will be described. In this case, when there is a change between acoordinate of the slider as of the end of the last dragging and a touchcoordinate of the time when the slider was released (in Step S27, YES),processing at the time of the end of dragging is performed (Step S28).The processing at the time of the end of dragging includes processingfor calculating a set value from the kind of a slide bar and a positionof the slider at the time of the end of dragging. Additionally,processing for indicating such calculated set value in the set valuedisplay area 34 as a final set value is also included. Moreover,processing for updating a set value stored in the RAM 12 to thecalculated set value is also included. After that, an internal variablen is returned to the initial value, 1, just like the processing in StepS11 of FIG. 8. The first slide bar 31 is displayed on the screen (StepS29), and slide bar control processing of FIG. 9 is ended.

On the other hand, when there is not a difference between a coordinateof the slider as of the end of the last dragging and a touch coordinateat the time when the slider was released (in Step S27, NO), thefollowing processing is performed. That is, processing of Step S29 isperformed while skipping the processing of Step S28, and the slide barcontrol processing of FIG. 9 is ended.

Next, a method to determine an upper limit value and a lower limit valueof a slide bar that will be indicated newly in Step S26 will bedescribed. The lower limit and upper limit values of a slide barindicated newly are given by the following formula.Lower limit value=X−W×(a/L)  (1)Upper limit value=X+W×(b/L)  (2)

Here, X is a set value just before switching slide bars, that is, justbefore indicating a new slide bar. W is a range of a set value of aslide bar indicated newly, within which the value can be changed. L isthe total length of the bar of a slide bar indicated newly. Also, let abe the length from the slider of the newly indicated slide bar to theleft end of the bar and b be the length from that slider to the rightend of the bar when the slider of the slide bar indicated newly isindicated in the same position as the slider of the original slide bar.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when indication is switched from theslide bar 31 to the slide bar 37 in the state the set value is “700”, Xis 700. Here, the slider 36 is indicated in the position of the slider33 of the original slide bar. Therefore, given that the length L of thebar 35 of the slide bar 37 is 60 mm, the distance from the slider 36 tothe left end of the bar 35 is 42 mm and the distance to the right end is18 mm. Accordingly, assuming that the possible change range W of the setvalue of the slide bar 37 is 100, the lower limit and the upper limitvalues are as follows. That is, the lower limit value will be700−100×(42/60)=630. The upper limit value will be 700+100×(18/60)=730.Meanwhile, although the unit of distance is mm in this exemplaryembodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, theunit of distance is discretionary and it may be the number of dots ofindication, for example.

As above, in this exemplary embodiment, when press operation (operationto keep touching the screen more than a given time without moving aslider) is performed, a slide bar having a set value variation amountper unit moving distance of the slider less than that of the originalslide bar is indicated newly while holding the present set value. Then,adjustment of the setting value can be continued by the slide barindicated newly. Therefore, fine adjustment of the set value can becarried out easily.

In addition, according to this embodiment, once a slider is touched by afinger, a series of operation can be performed without releasing thefinger until an adjustment of a set value is finished. Therefore, theessential ease of use of a slide bar is not damaged. Moreover, operationof a slide bar without seeing the slide bar also becomes possible.

The Third Exemplary Embodiment

In an electronic apparatus of the second exemplary embodiment, when aset value is adjusted by a user, switching to a slide bar with a lessset value variation amount per unit moving distance of a slider isavailable. On the other hand, in this embodiment, reverse switching,that is, switching to a slide bar with a larger set value variationamount per unit moving distance of a slider becomes also possible.

Specifically, for example, in the display screen of FIG. 6, there isshown the slide bar 40 with the lower and upper limit values of a setvalue that can be adjusted of 675 and 685, respectively. Here, when theuser performs operation to direct switching to a slide bar with a largervariation amount while keeping touching the slider 39, the electronicapparatus 10 detects the operation. Then, the display screen of the flatdisplay panel 14 is changed to a screen which indicates the slide bar 37as shown in FIG. 5. As a result, the user can change a set value between630-730 by moving a fingertip which has been left touching the screen todrag the slider 36.

In the display screen of FIG. 4, for example, there is indicated theslide bar 37 whose lower limit and upper limit values of a set valuethat can be adjusted are 630 and 730, respectively. Here, when the userperforms operation which directs switching to a slide bar with a largervariation amount while keeping touching the slider 36, the electronicapparatus 10 detects the operation. The display screen of the flatdisplay panel 14 is changed to a screen which indicates the slide bar 31as shown in FIG. 3. As a result, the user can change the set valuebetween 0-1000 by dragging the slider 33 by moving the fingertip whichhas been left touching the screen.

That is, in this exemplary embodiment, both of switching to a slide barwith a less set value variation amount per unit slider moving distanceand switching to a slide bar with a larger set value variation amountper unit slider moving distance are realized.

A processing example of the GUI program 53 in this exemplary embodimentwill be described with reference to FIG. 10.

At the time of a start of a set value change function, the GUI program53 sets the internal variable n for slide bar selection to a numericalvalue i preserved in the RAM 12 using the slide bar control unit 54.Then, the nth slide bar is indicated on the flat display panel 14 (stepS11′). Here, the preserved value i is a numerical value which indicatesa slide bar used last at the time of last set value change among thefirst to third slide bars. At that time, the present set value stored inthe RAM 12 is shown in the set value display area 34. Also,simultaneously with this, a slider is indicated in a position accordingto the present set value.

Next, the GUI program 53 determines whether a screen touch has beenperformed or not based on an output coordinate of the coordinatedetecting unit 17 (Step S12). When a screen touch has been performed,whether a touch position is on the slider of the slide bar or not isdetermined (Step S13). When the touch position is on the slider, theslide bar control unit 54 carries out the slide bar control processing(step S14′). After that, processing returns to the processing of StepS12. On the other hand, when the touch position is a portion besides theslider, processing according to the touched position is carried out(Step S15). After that, processing returns to the processing of StepS12. Because the processing when a portion besides the slider has beentouched is not related to the present invention directly, detaileddescription will be omitted.

Next, slide bar control processing in this exemplary embodiment, thatis, slide bar control processing in FIG. 10 (step S14′) will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 11.

In the slide bar control processing of step S14′, first, whether afinger has been released from a slider that had been being touched by itor not is determined based on output of the coordinate detecting unit 17(Step S21). When it has not being released, whether there has been achange in a touch coordinate is determined (Step S22). When there are nochanges in the touch coordinate, processing returns to the processing ofStep S21.

On the other hand, when there is a change in the touch coordinate,whether the change direction is a direction parallel to the bar or adirection vertical to the bar is distinguished (Step S31). When thechange direction is a direction parallel to the bar, processing at thetime of dragging is performed (Step S23). The processing at the time ofdragging includes processing for moving a display position of the sliderto the position in which dragging has been performed. Also included isprocessing for calculating a set value corresponding to the position ofthe slider after it has been moved is also included. Moreover,processing for indicating the calculated set value after the move in theset value display area 34 is also included. In addition, when aspecification is such that a set value in the middle of changing isimmediately reflected to an application using the set value, processingfor updating the set value stored in the RAM 12 is also included.

Next, the case when the change direction of the touch coordinate is adirection vertical to the bar will be described (in Step S31, NO). Inthis case, whether up-and-down operation has been performed and whetherdown-and-up operation has been performed is determined (Step S32).Up-and-down operation is operation, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), to rub aslider slightly in a direction from the lower part of the screen towardthe upper part thereof while keeping touching the slider, and, afterthat, to return to the original position. Down-and-up operation isoperation, as shown in FIG. 12 (b), to rub a slider slightly in adirection from the upper part of the screen toward the lower partthereof while keeping touching the slider, and then, to return to theoriginal position.

When up-and-down operation has been performed, it is determined thatswitching to a slide bar with a less set value variation amount per unitmoving distance of a slider has been directed from the user. Then, it isconfirmed that the internal variable n is not 3 or more (Step S25).After that, 1 is added to the internal variable n, and the (n+1)th slidebar is displayed on the screen of the flat display panel 14 (Step S26).At that time, the slider of a new slide bar is indicated in the positionwhere the slider of the original slide bar has been indicated.Therefore, the fingertip that has been touching the original slider willbe in the state that it is touching the new slider. Also in the sameStep S26, the slide bar control unit 54 of the GUI program 53 changesthe control state. That is, the slide bar control unit 54 changes thecontrol state from the state it is recognizing that the original slideris being touched to the state it is recognizing that the new slider isbeing touched. After that, processing returns to the processing of StepS21.

On the other hand, when down-and-up operation has been performed, it isdetermined that switching to a slide bar with a larger set valuevariation amount per unit moving distance of a slider has been directedfrom the user. Then, it is confirmed that the internal variable n is not1 or less (Step S33). After that, 1 is subtracted from the internalvariable n, and the (n−1)th slide bar is displayed on the screen of theflat display panel 14 (Step S34). At that time, the slider of a newslide bar is indicated in the portion where the slider of the originalslide bar has been indicated. Therefore, the fingertip that has beentouching the original slider will be in the state that it is touchingthe new slider. Also in the same Step S34, the slide bar control unit 54of the GUI program 53 changes the control state. That is, the slide barcontrol unit 54 changes the control state from the state it isrecognizing that the original slider is being touched to the state it isrecognizing that the new slider is being touched. After that, processingreturns to the processing of Step S21.

Next, a case when release of a slider is detected in the state where oneof the first to third slide bars is being indicated (in Step S21, YES)will be described. In this case, whether there is a change between thecoordinate of the slider as of the end of the last dragging and a touchcoordinate of the time when the slider was released is determined (StepS27). When being determined that there is a change (in Step S27, YES),processing at the time of the end of dragging is performed (Step S28).The processing at the time of the end of dragging includes processingfor calculating a set value from the kind of the slide bar and theposition of the slider as of the end of dragging. Processing forindicating such calculated set value in the set value display area 34 asa defined set value is also included. Moreover, processing for updatingthe set value stored in the RAM 12 to the calculated set value is alsoincluded. After that, the numerical value of the present internalvariable n is stored in the RAM 12 as a preserved value i (step S29′).Then, slide bar control processing of FIG. 11 is ended. On the otherhand, when there is not a change between a coordinate of the slider asof the end of the last dragging and a touch coordinate of the time whenthe slider was released (in Step S27, NO), processing is as follows.That is, in this case, processing of Step S29′ is performed whileskipping the processing of Step S28. Then, slide bar control processingof FIG. 11 is ended.

Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.

According to this exemplary embodiment, the same effect as the secondexemplary embodiment is obtained. Moreover, in this exemplaryembodiment, by predetermined operation performed while keeping touchinga slider, switching to a slide bar with a larger set value variationamounts per unit moving distance of a slider also becomes possible.Therefore, it becomes possible to carry out a fine adjustment of a setvalue more efficiently.

Other Embodiments

<The Kinds of Operation>

As instruction operation for switching to a slide bar with a less setvalue variation amount per unit moving distance of a slider, pressoperation is used in the second exemplary embodiment and up-and-downoperation is used in the third exemplary embodiment, but the presentinvention is not limited to these. That is, for example, a button switch23 which can be operated by such as a thumb of a hand holding theelectronic apparatus 10 may be provided in a side wall of the equipmentbody 30 as shown in FIG. 13. Then, operation to push this button switch23 may be assigned to instruction operation for switching to a slide barwith a less variation amount. Further, a physical switch like the buttonswitch 23 does not have to be used. That is, operation to turn on asoftware switch displayed on the display screen of the flat displaypanel 14 may be assigned to instruction operation for switching slidebars. In short, any operation is acceptable, provided that the operationcan be performed while keeping touching a slider.

For example, press operation which is carried out when the button switch23 is OFF may be made be instruction operation for switching to a slidebar with a less variation amount. Also, press operation which is madewhen the button switch 23 is ON may be made be instruction operation forswitching to a slide bar with a large variation amounts. In short, anytwo kinds of operation are acceptable, provided that the two kinds ofoperation can be performed while keeping touching a slider.

<The Number of Switching Steps>

Although, according to the first and third exemplary embodiments, thenumber of switching stages of slide bars is set to three stages, but thepresent invention is not limited to this. That is, these exemplaryembodiments can be applied to cases where two stages or four or morestages of slide bar switching are performed.

<The Shape of a Slide Bar>

Although, according to the first and third exemplary embodiments, slidebars having a bar with a linear shape is used, the present invention isnot limited to this. That is, a bar may be of a polygonal line and acurve line. In FIG. 14, examples of a slide bar with a ring-like shapedbar are shown. In the slide bars shown in FIG. 14, a position in aring-like bar is broken away and made be the end part. In FIG. 14 (a),by starting from the lower limit value of 0 and moving the sliderclockwise, a set value increases gradually. When it makes a circuit andreaches the other end, it becomes the upper limit value of 1000. FIG. 14(b) is a display example of a slide bar which has a reduced set valuevariation amount per unit moving distance of a slider compared with theslide bar of FIG. 14 (a). FIG. 14 (c) is a display example of a formdifferent from FIG. 14 (b). In FIG. 14 (c), the position of the end partof a slide bar is made be variable. Further, the lower limit and theupper limit values are set making a position rotating 180 degrees fromthe position of the slider at the time accepting a switching instructionof slide bars be a new end. Compared with the slide bar of FIG. 14 (b),the slide bar of FIG. 14 (c) has an advantage that an available changerange that takes the present set value as the median can be set.

<The Forms of Slide Bars Before and after Switching>

According to the second and third exemplary embodiments, a slide barafter switching is indicated so that it may overlap with the slide barbefore switching completely, but the present invention is not limited tothis. That is, for example, there may be a difference between displayforms of slide bars before and after slide bar switching.

Specifically, a slide bar after switching may be indicated in adifferent place from the slide bar before the switching within a rangethat the display positions of sliders being touched do not differbetween before and after the switching, for example. In this case, a newslide bar with a bar of a different direction from the direction of thebar of the original slide bar may be indicated. An example is shown inFIG. 15. In FIG. 15, when press operation has been performed to a sliderof a slide bar having a bar with the lower limit value of 0 and theupper limit value of 100, indication will be as follows. That is, screendisplayed is performed in a manner that a new slide bar having a barperpendicular to the original bar is indicated such that the old and newsliders are indicated at the same position. The bar of this new slidebar has the lower limit value of 48 and the upper limit value of 68.

Further, when dragging and press operation is performed to the slider ofthis new slide bar, indication will be as follows. That is, screendisplay is carried out in a manner that a new slide bar having a barperpendicular to the present bar is indicated such that the old and newsliders are indicated at the same position. The bar of this new slidebar has the lower limit value of 53 and the upper limit value of 58.Further, in this case, the old slide bar may be left on the screen ormay be eliminated.

Meanwhile, although, in the example of FIG. 15, the bar of a new slidebar after slide bar switching is made always be perpendicular to theoriginal bar, the present invention is not limited to this. That is,whether a new bar is indicated such that it is overlapped on theoriginal bar like the second exemplary embodiment, or whether a new baris indicated such that it is perpendicular to the original bar as shownin FIG. 15 may be determined according to some kind of standards. Forexample, the standard is such that an option with a smaller differencebetween the lengths to the both ends of a new bar from the new slider isselected. By having this standard, a certain degree of adjustment rangecan be secured both in the direction for making a set value large and inthe direction for making it small.

Next, another example in which a slide bar after switching is indicatedin a place different from that of the slide bar before switching will bedescribed. For example, the slider of a slide bar is arranged to bemovable only slightly in directions perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the bar. Also, operation to move a slider slightly to oneof two directions perpendicular to the bar (this operation is referredto as shift operation) is assigned as switching instruction operation ofslide bars. Then, when shift operation is performed to a slider, a newslide bar having a bar parallel with the original bar is shown in aplace departing from the original one by the shift amount. An example ofthis is shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 16 shows a case when shift operation hasbeen performed to the slider of a slide bar with a bar having the lowerlimit value of 0 and the upper limit value of 100. In this case, a newslide bar with a bar having the lower limit value of 35 and the upperlimit value of 85 is indicated such that the old and new bars areindicated in parallel with each other staying away from each other bythe shift amount. Moreover, when dragging operation and shift operationis performed to the slider of this new slide bar, indication will be asfollows. That is, a new slide bar with a bar having the lower limitvalue of 59 and the upper limit value of 69 is indicated such that theold and new bars are indicated in parallel with each other staying awayfrom each other by the shift amount. In this case, the old slide barsmay be left on the screen, or they may be eliminated.

<Touch Operation of a Slider>

Although touch operation in the first and third exemplary embodiments isoperation to dab at the slider of a slide bar indicated on a flatdisplay panel having a touch panel with a fingertip, the presentinvention is not limited to this. That is, touch operation may beoperation to dab at a slider not with a fingertip but with somethingbesides a fingertip such as a pen point. Or, touch operation may beoperation to put the mouse cursor at a slider and press the left buttonof the mouse. When a mouse cursor is used, operation to keep pressingthe left button more than a given time without moving the mouse cursorthat is being placed on a slider may be press operation.

<A Display Position of a Slider Before and after Switching>

In the exemplary embodiments described above, it is arranged that theindication locations of two of an old and a new slider before and afterslide bar switching is the same. By this, during change operation of aset value, a slider is made be seen from the user such that the user iskeeping touching it at all times. However, indication locations of thesliders of two of an old and a new one do not need to be made samenecessarily. That is, for example, by the slide bar control unit 54 ofthe GUI program 53, a control state should simply be changed to a statethat a new slider is being touched from a state that the original slideris being touched. As a result, in connection with a move of a fingertiptouching the screen, a shift of a slider indicated in a part besides afingertip and operation of the slider can be controlled.

Although the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments above, the present invention is not limited to theabove-mentioned exemplary embodiments. Various modifications which aperson skilled in the art can understand is allowed to the compositionand details of the present invention within the scope of the presentinvention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

A slide bar display control device according to the present invention isused as a basic component of a graphical user interface (Graphical UserInterface: GUI), for example.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic apparatus comprising: adisplay comprising a touch panel on which a user performs a plurality oftouch operations including: a drag operation, a long touch operation,and a release operation; and a processor and a computer readable memorystoring program instructions that when executed by the processor causethe processor to implement: displaying, on the display, a slider, whichshows a value configured to overlap and slide along a first bar with afirst appearance, wherein the first bar is configured to define a firstrange within which a position of the slider specifies the value,changing the position of the slider to a first position based on a dragoperation to the first position, specifying a first value in the firstrange based on the first position of the slider, changing, while theslider is in the first position and in response to a long touchoperation at the first position for more than a predetermined time, thefirst bar to a second bar configured to defined a second range, whereinthe second bar has a second appearance in portions of the second barthat do not overlap with the slider, changing, after the first bar haschanged to the second bar, the position of the slider at the firstposition to a second position based on a drag operation to the slider tothe second position, which specifies a second value in the second rangebased on the second position of the slider, and determining the secondvalue in response to a release operation at the second position.
 2. Theelectronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor furtherimplements displaying the value as a numeric information on the display.3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, before thefirst bar has changed to the second bar, the processor furtherimplements determining the first value in response to a releaseoperation at the first position in the first range of the first bar. 4.The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processorfurther implements changing the bar from the second bar to the first barin response to detecting the release operation at the second position.5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processorfurther implements, in response to detecting the release operation atthe second position, changing the appearance of the bar from the secondappearance to the first appearance in portions of the first bar that donot overlap with the slider.
 6. The electronic apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the long touch operation is detected after the dragoperation on the first bar.
 7. The electronic apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the drag operation on the second bar is detected afterthe long touch operation.
 8. The electronic apparatus according to claim1, wherein the first bar changes to the second bar when the touch panelkeeps detecting the touch to the slider before the release operation. 9.The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processorfurther implements determining the second value when the touch panelkeeps detecting the touch to the slider before the release operation.10. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first barchanges to the second bar when the touch panel keeps detecting the touchto the slider after the drag operation to the first bar and before anend of the long touch operation.
 11. The electronic apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the processor further implements changing the secondbar to the first bar based on the release operation on the second barwhen no release of the touch to the touch panel is detected during thedrag operation to the first bar and the long touch operation at thefirst position.
 12. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the drag operation on the first bar, the long touch operation atthe first position, drag operation on the second bar and releaseoperation at the second position are detected in a series.
 13. Theelectronic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein no other operationsare detected during the series of the operations.
 14. A method ofcontrolling a display, the method comprising: displaying, on thedisplay, a slider, which shows a value configured to overlap and slidealong a first bar with a first appearance, wherein the first bar isconfigured to define a first range within which a position of the sliderspecifies the value, changing the position of the slider to a firstposition based on a drag operation to the first position, specifying afirst value in the first range based on the first position of theslider, changing, while the slider is in the first position and inresponse to a long touch operation at the first position for more than apredetermined time, the first bar to a second bar configured to defineda second range, wherein the second bar has a second appearance inportions of the second bar that do not overlap with the slider,changing, after the first bar has changed to the second bar, theposition of the slider at the first position to a second position basedon a drag operation to the slider to the second position, whichspecifies a second value in the second range based on the secondposition of the slider, and determining the second value in response toa release operation at the second position.
 15. The method according toclaim 14, further comprising displaying the value as a numericinformation on the display.
 16. The method according to claim 14,wherein, before the first bar has changed to the second bar, furthercomprising determining the first value in response to a releaseoperation at the first position in the first range of the first bar. 17.The method according to claim 14, further comprising changing the barfrom the second bar to the first bar in response to detecting therelease operation at the second position.
 18. The method according toclaim 14, further comprising, in response to detecting the releaseoperation at the second position, changing the appearance of the barfrom the second appearance to the first appearance in portions of thefirst bar that do not overlap with the slider.
 19. The method accordingto claim 14, wherein the long touch operation is detected after the dragoperation on the first bar.
 20. The method according to claim 14,wherein the drag operation on the second bar is detected after the longtouch operation.
 21. The method according to claim 14, wherein the firstbar changes to the second bar when the touch panel keeps detecting thetouch to the slider before the release operation.
 22. The methodaccording to claim 14, further comprising determining the second valuewhen the touch panel keeps detecting the touch to the slider before therelease operation.
 23. The method according to claim 14, wherein thefirst bar changes to the second bar when the touch panel keeps detectingthe touch to the slider after the drag operation to the first bar andbefore an end of the long touch operation.
 24. The method according toclaim 14, further comprising changing the second bar to the first barbased on the release operation on the second bar when no release of thetouch to the touch panel is detected during the drag operation to thefirst bar and the long touch operation at the first position.
 25. Themethod according to claim 14, wherein the drag operation on the firstbar, the long touch operation at the first position, drag operation onthe second bar and release operation at the second position are detectedin a series.
 26. The method according to claim 25, wherein no otheroperations are detected during the series of the operations.
 27. Anon-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein programinstructions that when executed by a processor perform a method ofcontrolling a display, the method comprising: displaying, on thedisplay, a slider, which shows a value configured to overlap and slidealong a first bar with a first appearance, wherein the first bar isconfigured to define a first range within which a position of the sliderspecifies the value, changing the position of the slider to a firstposition based on a drag operation to the first position, specifying afirst value in the first range based on the first position of theslider, changing, while the slider is in the first position and inresponse to a long touch operation at the first position for more than apredetermined time, the first bar to a second bar configured to defineda second range, wherein the second bar has a second appearance inportions of the second bar that do not overlap with the slider,changing, after the first bar has changed to the second bar, theposition of the slider at the first position to a second position basedon a drag operation to the slider to the second position, whichspecifies a second value in the second range based on the secondposition of the slider, and determining the second value in response toa release operation at the second position.